Collected InuYasha Oneshots
by Reina Quentin
Summary: A collection of InuYasha one-shots. Open to continuation suggestions on some of them!


**Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-Chan or Kikyou! Not like I'm complaining about the Kikyou lacking-ness.**

_A Kikyou One-shot:_

_My Name is Kikyou_

My name is Kikyou. I am a Priestess.

Eighteen years ago, on this very day, my mother gave birth to me. Is it strange that I remember every single moment since my eyes first opened in this world? I know that it is, and I keep that secret. I remember how slimy I felt, how cold I was. It had been winter, my mother's blood and my caul-covered body steaming against the snow. For my mother had been on a pilgrimage, birthing me with no one beside her. I remember how she cried out, too weak to grab hold of me. I wailed, fearful and confused. There we'd lain for quite a while, my mother gasping in deep breaths as she tried to reach me.

Then, a traveler had come along. With horror in his eyes, he quickly grabbed me, torn open the caul that covered the bottom half of my body, and wrapped me in a cloth. My mother wept openly, begging him to keep me safe.

The man gripped me tight, I remember. His scent frightened me, the only man I'd ever met in my life. I wailed, my eyes closing as my body gave in to exhaustion.

Yes, that memory resided in me, clearer than the sky above me. My mother never recovered from that birth, nor did my father. Yet, she survived another eight years to give birth for the last time, to my dear sister Kaede. It was painful, watching her cry out for my again absent sire, screaming my name. In pain, days later, she died, joining my father in everlasting Nirvana.

But I do not let my past weigh on my present life. Only three years ago, I was dubbed priestess of this village, to my great honor. I knew that I could keep this village safe.

But at what cost did I give up my life as a child? No, at fifteen, one is not a child any longer. Those years are spent in preparation of womanhood, full of friends, adornments and vanities. But with my powers, growing as they were, I could not hope to hide my destiny from even myself. Therefore, I chose to embrace it.

I now see the consequences. Priestesses do not wed; long has it been known that bedding with a man causes one to lose their purity. Though I cannot say I truly believe this, I fear the eyes of the village folk should I no longer glow with the radiance of the blessed.

It is here, praying in the shrine where the Shikon no Tama resides, that I wait. This jewel –this curse- was given to me by a very prominent taijiya, a leader of a village in the mountains. I alone was presented with the task of keeping this vile creation pure, to the vexation of my colleagues.

I wait in the shrine, my senses alert. Earlier, I sensed him, his youki flitting in the air about me, menacing. It felt like a caress on my spine, sending shivers through me like no other youki ever had before. It felt…wrong, my fear.

There. The youki is closing in. I turn from the Shikon no Tama, slowly taking hold of my_ Saigu-Yumi_, turning towards the door. I draw a _hamaya, _setting it in place against the bow, ready for him. This is the fourth time he has come at me for it, and I intend to finish it.

I feel reluctance. I cannot shoot him mercilessly. Somehow, the thought of it shames me. Moving from my previously staunch position, I instead lift my bow and place my finger against it, plucking the bowstring. Even though I cannot hear the sound myself, I see ripples of spiritual power ring out through the forest before me. I hear a crash, a curse, and he flies out of the trees, landing on his feet before me.

Those eyes. I cannot look away from them. Burning, like melted gold. The hatred and contempt within me threatening to drive me mad with want. It is forbidden, this want. I do not even understand it completely. His silver hair waves in the wind, his dog ears flattening against his head as he tsks in irritation. I read my bow and arrow again, pointing it at him. I shall not shoot him.

"InuYasha," I say, my voice colder than I intend, "today is not the day."

"Keh!" He replied, cracking his knuckles as he crouches, "I could say the same for you, priestess."

He never calls me by my name. I am Priestess to him, a title and an obstacle.

I do not waver. Silently, I beg him to leave, sending a wave of calm towards him. He shakes his head, his glare darkening.

"Please leave," I say, attempting to hide my frustration, "I have no desire to fight with you any longer."

"Oh please," he sneering, "you say that every time, and you still do. I hope you have enough arrows, bitch."

He is a dog; I know that all women are 'bitches' to him. Still, I am hurt, cold.

"One is all I need."

"So confident!" he shouts, running towards me. With careful aim, along with my arrow's guidance, I shoot, grazing his cheek in warning. He hesitates, shock in his eyes.

But he does not stop as I thought he would. Fumbling, I draw another arrow, gasping as the hanyou stands before me, our chests a hand's length apart.

"Gotcha," he laughs, gripping my arm. It is the most thrilling moment of my life, his touch. Thrilling and dangerous. Failing in my battle to combat the blush rising in my cheeks, I raise my other hand, slamming into his chest. He stumbles back, surprised though he still holds my wrist. I too am shocked. I thought I'd concentrated power in my palm, enough to send him to Edo and back.

He draws me against his chest. I feel his claws against the back of my neck, threatening to tear my throat open.

"You're going to stick with me until I grab the Jewel," he whispered, gripping my neck hard, "and you're not going to try anything until I do. Anything and I snap your neck."

It felt as though he was trying to suffocate me instead. My breath ran ragged, my head clouding as I felt him drag me backwards towards the pedestal of the Jewel. I could hear his heart beating, erratic as his breath. His sheer excitement, his desire for the Jewel, consumed him. This knowledge froze me inside, chilling me as an outrage threatened to consume me. A preposterous thought rang through my head.

_'He cares more for the Jewel than he does for me.'_

Foolish! Of course he does! All I am to him… All I've been was an enemy to him, another battle to join all the others he'd fought. How was I different from the demons that had probably tried to slay him? How was my seeming indifference any indication of my true reluctance to cause him any harm?

"Stop," I choked, raising a hand to touch the one that clutched my neck, "InuYasha…"

His eyes looked straight ahead. We were only a few steps from the Jewel.

I knew what would happen if he took it, if he wished for what he wanted. Those days I got to see him, to feel those emotions I wasn't allowed to feel, those days would end. His callous laughter and cold eyes, pained eyes, would vanish.

It was selfish, and yet it was not. I wanted to save him from a fate I somehow believed he would regret, a fate that would selfishly keep him with me. A fate that would bring terror to the people of my village, to the people of the world. His youki was not his, he belonged to his youki. Already, visions of the dead filled my mind, a strangled gasp released from my lips at the thought of my sister, dead. No, if he killed her, I could not, should not, love him.

"STOP!" I screamed, filling myself with strength. With that light grip I held on his hand, I crushed it. I looked up as a grunt of pain escaped him, shock in his face as he looked down at me. Closing my eyes, I once again pressed my hand against his chest.

The result was instant, terrifying even me. With hardly any effort, I felt his ribs crack under my palm, pressure building as I sent him flying all the way out the shrine doors, against the Goshinboku. Dropping to the ground, I touched my throat, rubbing at it. I heard a scream, the growl of a beast. With closed eyes, I waited for his return, holding my breath.

And yet he did not come. My death had been forestalled. I dropped my hands to the ground, gasping for breath as my constricted airways screamed for air. Tears and sweat streamed down my face, my sobs stuck in my blocked lungs.

_'Oh, InuYasha.'_

I wanted to scream. I did not care if he heard me.

I fell against the shrine floors, raising my knees up to my chest. One hand shook against my constricted lungs, my heart. The other digging into the floor, my nails raking against it.

I did not care if my sobs reached him, if he heard me. Hoarsely, I cried, "Oh, InuYasha!"

If he heard, did he care? Did he feel it? Those feelings of mine that had finally overflowed.

"InuYasha!"

My name is Kikyou. I am a Woman.

**Vocab: **

**Shikon no Tama: Jewel of Four Souls**

**Saigu-Yumi: Priestess Bow**

**Hamaya: Blessed Arrow**

**Goshinboku: Sacred Tree**

**A/N: **

**So I was re-watching InuYasha, and saw the one episode where the betrayal is explained from Inu's POV waaaay back when Kikyou came back. All I can say is it made me think. I was a strict Kikyou hater when she was around, and I know that Kagome is really the one that deserves InuYasha. Now. But if the show had been about back then, would we really have thought that? I'm not saying she's the best undead person around, she really is the worst. But this isn't the clay-pot. This is a young woman who's never been allowed to have crushes, to have friends, to have fun. Her whole life revolved around her powers and her perceived coolness. Just because she can hide her feelings well doesn't mean she doesn't have any. Think: Eighteen years, most of it alone, is enough time to learn how to hide it all. **

**P.S: I'm thinking of writing a whole fanfiction for this-not just a one-shot. Tell me what you guys think! No flames until I get my fire-proof gloves out. You guy'll burn me so bad I don't think I'll me able to type .**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-Chan or Kikyou! Not like I'm complaining about the Kikyou lacking-ness.**


End file.
